Conventionally, remote controlling has been performed through infrared data communications by transmission of a command signal from a remote control device (remote controller) to a plurality of devices to be controlled.
Portable devices (mobile phone, digital camera, etc.) having been recently in widespread use support a high-speed infrared communication protocol, such as IrSS® communications. From the portable devices, images can be directly transmitted to various audio/visual devices (IrSS-compliant devices) for use at home. This allows the portable device to be used in the same manner as a remote controller, thereby enabling image storage in a HDD recorder and image display on a television set, and the like operations. In this manner, a plurality of devices can be remotely controlled by using only such a portable device (e.g. Non-Patent Literature 1, etc.).
Meanwhile, individual devices are connected to each other via an interface realized through wired or wireless connection. Such a connection between the devices realizes one-way signal transmission or two-way signal transmission.
Recently, connection between audio/visual devices, for example, have been made via a digital video and audio input/output interface, such as HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface), which enables transmission and reception of video, audio, and command signals between the individual devices. This allows the audio/visual devices to control other audio/visual devices or to operate according to commands from other audio/visual devices (e.g. Non-Patent Literature 2, etc.).
Non-Patent Literature 1
Photo system
[searched on the Internet on Nov. 12, 2007]
<URL: http://www.sharp.co.jp/familink/photo.html>
Non-Patent Literature 2
Familink operator's guide
[searched on the Internet on Nov. 12, 2007]
<URL: http://www.sharp.co.jp/support/av/dvd/doc/dvacw80-72_familink.pdf>
Non-Patent Literature 3
User's manual of digital high-definition recorder, p. 171
[searched on the Internet on Nov. 12, 2007]
<URL: http://www.sharp.co.jp/support/av/dvd/doc/dvacw80-72_mn.pdf>